New York City FC player ratings are determined by Hudson River Blue readers — here are your NYCFC player ratings after the 0-0 draw at Real Salt Lake thanks to the goalkeeping heroics of Luis Barraza, and the non-existent New York City attack.
Starting XI
Talles Magno – 4.3
Talles Magno got his first start in five games, and spearheaded an attack that didn’t look up to the task. The good news? Talles Magno had a shot on goal. The bad news? It was his only shot of the entire game. Our readers gave him a poor rating, while FotMob thought he was a more average 6.3.
Santiago Rodríguez – 5.6
The midfielder created a few chances, and carried the ball well in flashes. But the fact is this attack just isn’t synching up: The Designated Player should be pulling the strings and making things happen. Maybe that’s why our readers gave him a below-average rating, while FotMob awarded him a good-not-great 7.4.
Gabriel Pereira (off 73′) – 5.2
Zero shots, two successful dribbles, and a pass accuracy of 69%: It was an off-night for Gabriel Pereira. We know the winger is capable of moments of magic, but this just wasn’t his time to shine. FotMob handed him a 6.7
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Keaton Parks (off 80′) – 5.8
Keaton Parks is the team’s reigning ironman: The box-to-box midfielder played in all 17 of NYCFC’s MLS league games this season. On a side struggling for goals, those have to go in. But his recent performances haven’t been clicking, and your ratings reflect his dip in form. FotMob gave him a better-than-average 6.9.
Alfredo Morales – 5.4
The defensive midfielder made his second consecutive start as James Sands was once again asked to fill in at center-back. He logged a solid shift, and even managed to take two shots — not bad considering NYCFC managed just five shots on the night. But it’s hard to like anything about the team’s performance in Salt Lake City. FotMob awarded him a 6.5.
Brian Cufré (off 61′) – 5.4
Braian Cufré was cleared to play after an independent panel overturned the red card shown to him in the previous week’s match against the New England Revolution. The left-back put in a solid if unspectacular shift. FotMob handed him a 6.4.
Stephen Turnbull (off 73′) – 4.0
This was the third consecutive start for Stephen Turnbull, and his least-convincing performance in recent games. Some nice moments were offset by sloppy touches, and a mistimed ball allowed Real Salt Lake to run at goalkeeper Luis Barraza in a one-on-one that almost gave away the game. FotMob gave Turnbull a 6.3.
RELATED: Winless streak continues as NYCFC hang on for 0-0 draw with Real Salt Lake
James Sands – 6.6
Once again head coach Nick Cushing lined up NYCFC with a patched-together back three that featured James Sands. And once again he got the job done. It’s a shame that Sands isn’t roaming the midfield and the No 6 he was born to be, but the club’s fans should be grateful that he can fill in at center-back so seamlessly. FotMob gave him a 7.1.
Justin Haak – 6.6
It was a good performance from Justin Haak — even if your rating doesn’t reflect what we saw on the field. Three clearances, three interceptions, five recoveries: He was as consistently inconsistent as the rest of a defense that managed to pull a clean sheet out of a hat. FotMob handed him a 7.1.
Tony Alfaro – 6.6
Tony Alfaro is growing into his role at NYCFC. The seasoned center-back spent most of the season on the bench, but in his latest start, he looked more comfortable playing alongside Haak and Sands. Good thing, because with Thiago Martins out six to eight weeks after undergoing knee surgery, we’re likely going to see a lot more of Tony. FotMob awarded him a 6.4
Luis Barraza – 8.6
Luis Barraza was a beast in goal, logging four saves and earning his third clean sheet of the season. More importantly, he came out on the winning side of what felt like four hundred one-on-ones with the RSL attack: NYCFC owe this road point to Barraza’s goalkeeping. Not only is this 8.6 rating the most love our readers have ever shown Barraza, it’s the second-highest rating you handed out this season. FotMob gave him a team-high 7.8.
Substitutes
Kevin O’Toole (on 61′) – 5.3
The left wing-back was brought on to replace Cufré and give NYCFC more juice in the attack. It didn’t exactly pan out. Kevin O’Toole felt disconnected from the rest of the team, managing a poor 60% pass completion rate and making just 16 touches in over 30 minutes of regulation and stoppage time. ForM ob gave him a 6.2.
Matías Pellegrini (on 73′) – 4.3
We still have high hopes for Matías Pellegrini despite what we see in a game like this one. The winger was brought on to replace Pereira and open up the attack on the right, but he made a negligible impact on the game. When will he step up? FotMob awarded him a 6.1.
RELATED: Real Salt Lake vs NYCFC highlights
Tayvon Gray (on 73′) – 4.4
Another player we’re rooting for is Tayvon Gray. He came on to replace Turnbull and reinforce a defense that was giving away far too many chances to RSL. While this performance wasn’t bad, it doesn’t strengthen his case to return to the Starting XI. FotMob gave him a 6.1.
Mitja Ilenič (on 80′) – 5.3
Cushing decided to bring on Mitja Ilenič when Parks went down with an injury. Yes, the NYCFC bench was depleted given that midfielders Haak and Sands were playing in the defense, but why not let Richy Ledezma run out the clock? FotMob gave him a 6.0 for the second week in a row.
Player of the Match
Luis Barraza
It wasn’t even close: Barraza took 85% of the vote after his phenomenal performance in goal. He looked athletic, spry, and determined as he made save after save. Barraza did everything you could ask of a goalkeeper:
Head Coach
Nick Cushing – 4.6
This low rating seems to be as much a product of the general state of things as it is a reflection of this game. True, NYCFC are winless in nine games in all competitions dating back to April. Also true: Cushing’s subs didn’t impact the game much. But he pieced together a defense from repurposed midfielders that held the line — it bent, but it didn’t break.
Fotis Bazakos (referee) – 5.5
No complaints. Or at least nothing big. A good reason as any why this is among the highest referee ratings you handed out this season.
not a bad game, getting a now-becoming-crucial 1 point from where we’ve had 0 points by far. Barraza was the man, just like everyone felt. his grabbing the same part groin kinda concerns me, and it all happened after Cushing spent all the subs.
gotta praise Alfaro & Haak’s performance. you see, these two loyal defenders has almost zero ability to ‘pass it forward’ to start build up. but on one of those days, cutting off the spears & intercepting the disasters just count. both were at the right place at the right times. way better serves than those attackers never came back for D: Santi, Magno & Gabi. this is where i do miss Maxi & Taty. no matter where they were they came to cover. and gosh lucky we have Jimmy at Cushing’s disposal. he’s becoming somewhere in between Pirlo & Callens. direct inspiration we witness!
with that said, some of highly regarded youngsters are proven USELESS. i decided not to expect nor hope much from them ‘til the proper mending possibly on the way: Magno. zero ability to hold the ball, zero ability to read where other teammates are. its just pathetic to watch he keep trying flicks. and that one shot from Alfredo’s through via Gabi’s genius touch shoulda aimed the far post, gahhhhhh!!! Mati? forget about it.
there was a reason why Miami ditched him. pro’ly everyone got ripped up by his capable agent. Turnbull. good job making the entire team look like a beer league coed bunch. smh. and Gray. hey as much as we love this li’l homie boy, we should let him grow more in the segundo team or in the nextpro tournies. adjusting the opponents kill passes twice with the blind backhead while running for nothing just made me speechless:
oh and Keaton’s injury didn’t look just a knock. he yelled at his own knee, that was with some huge scars… really hope i’m overworried.
long lent, nycfc. hope and pray we make the POs.
Keaton made some absolutely amazing passes in the game that were completely mishandled by our front line. I mean, at least twice, he dropped a dime onto our player between two defenders and they just couldn’t handle the ball.
Haak and Alfaro are putting in some amazing performances to fill in the holes in our roster. I know Alfaro has had some mistakes but the pre-season buzz on this guy was that we should hope he never plays, and he’s given us more than his stats suggested.
James has been back to himself the last two games which is good to see, and Barraza is really stepping into his own. Turnbull had a game he will want to forget, but I can’t get too down on him or O’Toole when neither was supposed to be the figure they are being forced to be due to the front office mismanagement.
The roster at this point is a disgrace. Not because we don’t have a lot of talent but because we are missing soooo much depth all over the field. This is not a…..just get in a striker and we’ll be fine. We need at least 3-4 really good signings, that all have to be getting regular minutes after they come in. At the beginning of the season we had a gaping hole at the #9 and we were desperately thin on the back line and box-to box mid. Now you can add the LB position as in need, RB needing even more cover, and even both wings needing depth? Pathetic.
I’m not a big Cushing fan but this is on the FO.